


Fraternization

by Galsult



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-25 22:54:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18711334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galsult/pseuds/Galsult
Summary: Nick hits up an attractive, anonymous local on an app, only to find they might not be quite as anonymous as they seem.





	Fraternization

 

“ _Nick_ , put your phone away and help me out, will you?”

“Sorry, Carrots.  I’m a bit wrapped up at the moment.”

Judy gave him a withering look.  “Right.  And what, exactly, is more pressing than helping me organize these files?”

Nick looked up – she was standing in front of him, head cocked, paw on hip.  He shot her one of his trademark grins.  “Honestly?  Anything.”

She threw her head back with an exaggerated sound of exasperation, and Nick smiled to himself.  They’d gotten the short end of the stick; the ZPD had finally decided to bite the bullet and shift its records over from paper to a fully online system.  Doubtless this would help make it easier to find files, since everything would be centralized and easily accessible from anywhere – but it also meant a lot of grunt-work for whichever poor bastards ended up having to do it.

Which ended up being the two of them.

Well, for this week anyway – even Bogo wasn’t so cruel as to hoister what was easily three months of boring, tedious data entry on one team.  Everyone in the precinct was going to end up working in here at some point over the next few months.

And since the chief had neglected to put forward any actual requirements for how much work they needed to do, opting to base it on time spent rather than files copied over…

It wasn’t like Nick _wasn’t_ going to do any work – he would, truly, scout’s honor.  But he didn’t see the need to do _too_ much.

Unlike a certain rabbit, who was racing through files at breakneck speed, cracking them out of their disorganized cabinets and re-typing their contents verbatim into the computer.

“Careful, now – go too fast and I won’t have any left to do.”

She scoffed.  “As if that isn’t your plan.”

Nick feigned indignance, paw clutching his heart.  “Carrots, how _could_ you?  I would never dream of doing something so devious – nay, _heinous_.”

She turned to look at him, eyes lidded in mischief, from the computer desk; specially ordered not but a month ago for smaller species like themselves (just in time for this awful job, Nick thought conspiratorially).  “Really?  Then prove your worth, oh innocent one, and come help me out over here.”

“Fine, fine.”  He put his phone away and walked over to the other computer.  He’d let her suffer enough this morning anyway.  “You know how much I hate busywork, though.”

“It’s not busywork!  This is very important – once we’re done, we won’t even have to come back to the station to bring up files.  The whole city’s records are going mobile.”

Bless her, she couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice.  Over _data entry_.  Sometimes Nick thought she was from another planet, let alone another species.

He hummed thoughtfully.  “Honestly, I’m with the chief on this one.  Sounds like a security nightmare to me.”  The whole idea to have the ZPD be able to access records from an encrypted app on their phones was a city council brainchild, and Bogo was none too pleased with them thrusting it upon him – not least because it meant diverting resources from his own labor pool to the project.  Two more cops working on the files meant two less cops on the beat.

And that wasn’t even getting into how easy it was to hack a phone.

“I wouldn’t worry about it.  It’s not like we’re using our own personal phones.”  She was right on that point.  It mitigated _some_ of the worry, at least.

Nick shrugged.  “What can I say?  I’m a paranoid mammal.”  He grabbed a cardboard box of files and plopped it next to him.  And God help him, they dated all the way back to the 70s.  “This is ludicrous, though.  I hope you’ll at least admit that much.”

Judy’s expression turned that specific type of determined it always did when she tackled seemingly insurmountable odds.  “Ludicrous isn’t impossible.”

Upon seeing that expression, Nick knew there was no hope.  He shook his head with a smile and got down to copying over the files.

Not as fast as Judy, though.  He wasn’t going to make a crusade of this.

 

……….

 

“ _Caaaarroooootts_ ”, he exaggeratedly moaned.  “ _I’m tiiiiiiired_.”

Judy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.  This was the third time he’d expressed his displeasure this hour.  Though, looking at the clock, it _was_ lunch time.

“Alright.  You’re right.”  Nick perked up at the proclamation.  “Let’s take a break.”

“ _Finally_.”  He got up and stretched.  “Feels like I’ve been sitting all morning.  Oh wait – that’s because I have been.”

Judy playfully punched his arm and he flinched.  “Hey!  That hurts, you know?”

She giggled.  “That could not possibly have hurt – I barely touched you!”

“Just because I’m a sensitive creature…” Judy rolled her eyes at that.  “…doesn’t give you the right to take advantage of my weakness and attack me.”

“I just saw you deadlift twice your weight last evening, you’re not getting away with the ‘fragile fox’ routine.”  They’d been going to the gym together ever since Nick joined the force – she liked to credit herself with his improvement.  “Now let’s get lunch, I’m starving.”

“Go on ahead, I’m going to stop by the little fox’s room.  I have to drop off a package.”  He enjoyed her half-serious, half-exaggerated reaction of disgust.

“Too much information, Nick.”

“Really?”, he asked in a mock-serious tone that she could probably see right through at this point.  “I was under the impression having as much information at your fingertips as possible was a good thing.  I’m just telling you the facts, Carrots.”  He broke out in a smile.  “Maybe you want to file that one away too.”

“You’re _insufferable_ ”, she said with a smile of her own.  “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria.”

“Make sure to save a tofu taco for me!”, he shouted as she walked down the hall.  They always seemed to run out faster than any of the other food items – probably because they were one of the only edible things available.

He made his way over to the restroom with his usual swagger.  He swore, it wasn’t even on purpose anymore.  He’d trained himself into that mode of walking so long ago and for such a long period of time that he didn’t think he’d be able to stop without forcing himself to relearn his gait all over again.

After he finished with his business and washed his hands, he spent a moment preening in the mirror.  _A fox must always look his best._ It was something his dad taught him back when he was still in the picture.  _People are always going to assume the worst of you, so you have to challenge their expectations_.

It was good advice, Nick thought as he meditated on it.  Tended to make you a bit of a narcissist though.  But hey?  Better to be a smug, cocksure, _sexy_ fox than a strung-out, beatdown and destitute one.

_Speaking of ‘sexy’_ – Nick fished out his phone and opened up Prowlr.  Maybe it wasn’t proper decorum to browse a hookup app at work, but since when was Nick one for decorum?  It wasn’t like there was anyone in the restroom with him.

He absentmindedly scrolled through the latest barrage of comments.  Nick wasn’t fool enough to put a face pic up (at least not publicly), but the photo he _did_ have up always garnered plenty of attention anyway.  It was funny, in an acerbic ‘dark comedy’ type of way – no one likes a fox, but everyone wants to fuck one.

He knew this should have upset him deeply, and on many levels it did.

Didn’t stop him from going along with it, though.  He couldn’t blame the gay population of Zootopia for wanting to bone him.  Hell, he’d bone himself if he were another guy.

_There’s that narcissism again._

He was about to close his phone and leave to join Judy when he noticed a profile he hadn’t seen before, right near him too.  Actually, it looked like it was the closest guy in his vicinity.  The pic was similar to his own, just a shirtless body shot – albeit this mammal being _much_ larger, and more muscular.  _Age: 44, Species: water buffalo, Profile: Not closeted, but not open either; looking for in-shape mammals, no species preferences_.

Nick took a few seconds to take in the profile photo: the buffalo had a great body, there weren’t any spelling errors or references to weird fetishes, didn’t seem like a crazy person – no reason not to shoot him a message.

He put his phone away and left the room.

He could really go for some lunch.

 

……….

 

“So how did things go with Fluffbutt?”, Nick casually asked between bites of his tofu taco.  It wasn’t exactly what he’d call _good_ , but unlike the other options at the cafeteria it didn’t make him gag – he took what he could get.

“It’s Fluff _bett_ , not Fluff _butt_.  I’ve told you this before.”

“You have – doesn’t seem to stop me from calling him Fluffbutt though.”

She rolled her eyes, and he grinned.  He considered getting a rise out of Judy to be his primary job.  Policework came second.

“If you must know, it was fine.”

“Just ‘fine’?  You deserve better than that, Carrots.”  He might have said it playfully, but he was being at least a little serious.  This was the third date she’d gone on with this guy, and the third time in the row she seemed less than enthused afterwards.  He wondered why she even bothered.

“We went out to dinner and saw a movie”, she said evenly.  “We had a very nice time.”

“Uh huh.”  He wasn’t buying it.  “You know you don’t _have_ to date someone, right?  Especially if they’re as boring as Fluffbutt –”

“Bett”, she interrupted.  “And he’s not _boring_ , he’s just…”

Nick waited for her to finish, but as the seconds dragged on… “Dull?  Uninteresting?  Monotonus?”

“I was going to say ‘neutral’.”

He laughed at that.  “Oh yeah, nothing says passionate romance quite like _neutral_.”

She sighed, giving in and letting her head fall down into her arms on the table.  “What am I even going to do?”, she said, somewhat muffled.

Nick shrugged.  “Stop dating him?  This doesn’t seem like a conundrum to me.”

She raised her head.  “It wouldn’t be, but my parents –”

He interrupted her with a wave of his paw and a look of incredulity.  “Carrots, why do you care so much about what they think?”

“They’re afraid I’m going to wind up an elderly spinster with a hundred pet isopods.”

“I find that incredibly unlikely.”  He stared at her until she finally reneged and made eye contact, dropping his smug façade for a moment.  “You’re a smart, strong, fit, attractive bunny.  You’ll find someone eventually.  Just not this guy.”

She sighed.  “You’re right.  I’m being too dramatic about this.”

He nodded.  “You do have a tendency to do that.”

They ate in silence for a few moments, enjoying what they could from their mediocre meal before Judy piped up again.  “What about you?”

_Oh no_.  Nick very carefully affixed himself with a look of innocent obliviousness.  “What do you mean?”

She cocked an eyebrow.  “Oh come on now, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

He put his paws up in a placating gesture.  She was getting too good at this ‘seeing through him’ thing.  “Alright, you caught me.  Truth is, I don’t have anything going on at the moment.”

“What?  No dashing, hunky bucks to come by and sweep you off your feet?”

He knew this was payback for earlier.  “No, no fairytale escapades, I promise.”  He shot her a grin.  “Now, fairy tale _sexcapades_ –”

Judy made a face of disgust.  He had the nagging suspicion she wasn’t quite as grossed out by it as she acted, though – otherwise why bring it up?

“I don’t need to hear about your string of conquests, thank you very much.”  She propped her head up in one of her paws.  “I was just wondering if you ever made the jump into the realm of proper romance.  You know – actual dates, that sort of thing.”

Nick felt his composure drop a bit.  “I don’t think I’m quite ‘actual date’ material.”

She looked at him more closely, and Nick couldn’t help but read the expression on her face.  He was very good at reading mammals in general, but Judy was always exceptionally open emotionally.  Her look wavered somewhere between empathetic sadness and pity.  He could brook the former, but he wasn’t a fan of the latter.  Not that he blamed her for it, mind.

“Hey now, don’t feel bad for me.”  His face dropped into his trademark smug grin before he could even think about it.  “We can’t all be naïve romantics.  I leave that role to you.”

That snapped her out of it.  “Hey!  I am _not_ a naïve romantic.”

He put on an expression of surprise.  “Really?  That why you’ve given Fluffbett so many chances?”

She groaned.  “I’ve told you a hundred times, it’s Fluff _butt_.”  She covered her mouth with her paws in a gasp, and Nick let out a peal of laughter.

He wiped a tear from his eye.  “Oh, Carrots.  Never change.”

 

……….

 

Nick couldn’t help but let out a yawn as their day started wrapping up.  Judy said they’d made great headway on the files – Nick told her that was a tragedy, and she flicked upside the ear for it.

They were starting to shut down the computers and put the files back when Judy’s ears shot up.  “Cheese and crackers – I forgot!”

“ _Language_ , Carrots.”

She started packing up the files more quickly – dare he might think, more _sloppily_.  “I told Francine and the girls I was going out with them tonight.”

“Oh, is it third Thursday already?”  Judy had been tagging along for ‘girl’s night out’ for the last few months in an attempt to get to know her fellow officers better, and maybe make some friends.  Nick knew the male officers had similar get-togethers, but he always had a convenient excuse on-hand whenever he was invited along.

“Yeah, and I missed the last one, so I _have_ to make it this month.”  She whipped out her phone to send them a text.  “You don’t mind that I’m skipping out on you, do you?  I’m really sorry.”  Her expression looked far too torn over something as innocuous as a social snafu, Nick thought.

“Stop worrying so much, Bunny”, he said with a smile.  “I think I can handle one workout by myself.”

She looked hesitant.  “Alright, if you’re sure.  Just make sure not to lift too heavy without someone there to spot you.  But also make sure not to slack off and lift too light!”

“Yes, I’m sure.  Go have fun, Carrots.”  He gestured to the door with a wave of his paw.  “Your ladies-in-waiting need you.”

She leaped forward and hugged him, almost bowling him down.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise.”

Nick laughed.  “I believe you.  Now go!  You don’t want to be late.”

She let go of her vice grip with a giggle herself, and was out the door with a wave.

Nick shook his head and chuckled to himself, putting away the rest of the files.  And if they weren’t 100% in order?  Well, they were moving them all online anyway, so it’s not like it mattered anymore.

Done with his menial labor for the day, he nodded to himself over a job well-done – which to him meant a job done just well enough to avoid censure, and not an iota more.

He dusted off his paws and left for the gym, whistling a tune that was stuck in his head for the last week that he just couldn’t quite place.

 

……….

 

The precinct locker room was emptier than usual.

That is to say, it was totally vacant.

Nick thought that was a little unusual, until he recalled that guys’ night out ran concurrent with its female-catering variant.  He shrugged to himself and began to change.

Working out with Judy was definitely an experience.  He thought if she ever gave up the police gig (as if _that_ would happen), she could probably scrap it as a personal trainer.  Or failing that, a slave-driver.

Nick was never out-of-shape at any point in his life (save for a particularly dire bit back in his early 20s, but that didn’t count), and was even good enough to pass the ZPD entrance exam without too much additional effort – but Judy’s definition of fitness was a whole ‘nother beast.  He’d probably gotten stronger over the last year of their partnership than in the thirty-odd years preceding it.  And the added benefit of being able to ogle himself even harder was nice.

That reminded him: he fished out his phone, and would you look at that, Mr. Buffalo responded.

_FoxyBusiness: looking good there, pal_

_(N/A): Thank you, the sentiment is mutual.  I’m hesitant to chat with someone with as horrible a username though._

He shook his head at the message with a smile.  It was one of _those_ guys: those overly-formal, well-spoken, usually successful men in their late prime who could snag anyone they wanted, but who had high standards and were hard to score with.  Nick had run into a number of them over the years.

They were always his favorite.

He thought it was because they tended to play hard-to-get, and took a lot of wordplay to sway over.  It was the sort of game Nick liked to engage in.

_FoxyBusiness: Well, at least I have a username.  Or should I call you N/A?_

And there: the bait was set.  The guy would probably respond with his actual first name, if Nick’s experience was any indication.  Really, online dating wasn’t so different from a hustle.

Business done, he changed into a tank top and athletic shorts, and balled up his uniform into a pile and tossed it in his locker.  He knew Judy would stare daggers at him if she saw him do that – but one, she wasn’t here; and two, he was getting it cleaned tonight anyway, so it didn’t really matter.

As he walked into the gym, he took a moment to savor its emptiness.  He was never in here without at least Judy alongside him – it made for an interesting change of pace.  There definitely wouldn’t be any waiting for equipment to free up, at least.

He started his usual warmup routine, just some light cardio and push-ups.  It was odd without having Judy pep-talking him the whole time, pushing him to go one rep further, but he got used to it after a bit and drifted off, focused on his work.

He was putting plates on the barbell to bench press when he heard someone walk in.  He turned, and his eyebrows shot up.

“Evening, Chief.”

“Wilde”, the buffalo responded curtly.

Nick hadn’t ever seen the chief in the gym before.  In truth, he hadn’t ever seen the chief do anything recreational, now that he thought about it.  Never in the gym, never in the cafeteria, never relaxing in the rooftop garden – Nick jokingly thought the chief lived in his office, and only emerged once every full moon to give a press conference.

He laid back on the bench when the chief looked over at him, looking like he wanted to say something.  They made eye contact, and Nick noticed the chief had an awkward look on his face, which made _him_ feel awkward in turn.

“Are you going to lift that?”, the buffalo asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

Nick almost laughed to himself; so _that’s_ what had him worked-up.  He didn’t think he’d be able to lift this much.  Nick was afraid he was about to get reprimanded for some unrelated thing, and for a split-second thought the chief had bothered coming all the way down here just to chew him out.  Never mind why he’d bother changing into a tee-shirt first.

“I was planning on it.”  Nick put on a grin.  As much as he feared the chief sometimes, he found it impossible not to try and get on his nerves.  He had a pathological need to push as many buttons as he could, all the way up to the limit.  “Are you?”, he said, gesturing to the small barbell Judy used for lifting that laid on the floor in front of the chief.

The buffalo snorted.  “Don’t get smart with me, Wilde.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

The chief huffed, and moved away towards the squat rack for larger mammals.  Nick took a few breaths to steady himself and took the bar from its seat, beginning to lift.

_Down.  Up.  Down.  Up_.

On the sixth rep he began to struggle, and he sat the bar back on its notches, knowing he’d probably fail and embarrass himself in front of the chief if he tried for a seventh.

_Speaking of… Hoo boy_.

The buffalo was squatting twelve plates for reps.  Nick always knew he was strong just by looking at him; he’d never guessed he’d be _that_ strong though.  That was more than what Koslov lifted back when Nick was working with the Big family.

He also found his eyes drifting lower to Bogo’s ass, and took a second to appreciate the sight.  Then he realized he was checking out his boss in full view of said boss, and decided to avert his gaze.  Probably on the safer side to not push that particular limit.  Bogo put up with a lot of crap from him, but that would probably be the straw to break the camel’s back.

Or fox’s, in this case.

He went for another set, settling into the groove a bit more.  It wasn’t _so_ awkward having the chief around.  They more or less acted as if the other wasn’t in the room with them, which suited Nick just fine.

He took his phone out while resting between sets to see another message from his anonymous friend.

_(N/A): I don’t send like giving my name away.  Nothing personal, I just like to keep my privacy._

Nick frowned at that.  On one hand, he wasn’t biting the bait.  But on the other, he _had_ bothered to message him back, which he wouldn’t have done if he wasn’t interested…

He was considering how to respond when another message came across.

_(N/A): What are you looking to do, exactly, anyway?_

Nick smiled.  If the conversation was headed that direction already, then it was settled.  Now it was just a matter of playing the part to completion.

_FoxyBusiness: Bit presumptuous to assume I’m looking to do anything, isn’t it?_

He got up to add some extra weight to the bar, and noticed Bogo had moved on to overhead press – only six plates, this time.  He quietly did the math, and realized the chief was lifting approximately seven of him over his head.

Species differences were unfair sometimes.

He only managed four reps with the latest addition of weight.  Judy’d told him not to skimp out, but he didn’t think he could go any higher without someone to spot him.  He was weighing ( _hah_ ) the pros and cons of asking the chief when his phone lit up.

_(N/A): I get the sense you’re into presumptuous mammals._

Nick felt that familiar, tingling sense of electricity in his gut.  This sort of verbal dance was always more fun with a talented partner.

_FoxyBusiness: Luckily for you, I am_.

_(N/A): Suppose you wouldn’t mind this, then?_

_(N/A): 1.jpg_

Nick swallowed as he opened the attached image.  It was another shot of his bovine friend, albeit one a little lower than his profile pic.  Nick thought of at least six things he’d like to do with this mammal off the top of his head, but he set the phone aside.  It was always good to leave them hanging for a little bit, he felt – and he needed to finish benching anyway.

But as he lowered the bar, he couldn’t help but fixate on the image now burned into his mind’s eye.  He struggled on the fourth rep – and fuck him, he couldn’t get the bar up.

_Damn.  Damn. **Damn**_.

His arms quaked as he held it above his chest, not allowing it to fall completely onto him and crush his sternum.  He managed to grunt out a sound of distress.

_I’m going to die_ , he thought.  He absently wondered what Judy would say at the funeral, if he’d receive a reprimand for not following basic safety rules from beyond the grave.

Just as he thought he’d collapse under the weight, he felt it completely and utterly dissipate from his arms.  For a second he thought he’d actually died and the lack of pressure was from his soul ascending to the great beyond.

Then he noticed Bogo towering above him, holding the weight-laden bar with one hand, seemingly with no effort on his part.

Nick sheepishly sat up and laughed to try and dispel the tension.  “Guess I _wasn’t_ actually going to lift it after all.”

Bogo made a grumbling noise from his nostrils.  “That was foolish, Wilde.  You should’ve asked for a spot if you were going to take on that much.”

Nick felt his ears laying back on his head in submission.  “You’re right.  That was dumb.”

The chief stared at him, a look of confusion on his face.  “That’s it?”, he asked.  “No smart aleck comment?”

The fox lit up a little bit.  “I take my life seriously, sir.”

Bogo grunted at that.  “Could’ve fooled me.”  He didn’t seem angry as far as Nick could tell, though.  That had to count for something.

The buffalo turned to walk back to his workout when Nick spoke up.  “Thanks, by the way.”

Bogo grunted something that vaguely sounded like ‘you’re welcome’.  Nick took that as the win it was and got up to remove the weights from the bar.  He made the executive decision to only use machines and dumbbells for the rest of the workout.  _No more barbells for today_.

He walked by Bogo on the way to the weight benches near the dumbbells and nodded at him – surprisingly, the chief nodded in return.  He noticed the buffalo was checking his phone a lot.  He didn’t envy the chief his position; doubtless he was responding to work emails even during what was ostensibly his free time.  Nick shuddered at the thought of being that saddled to his job.

He took out his own phone, finally deigning to respond to his mysterious potential paramour’s dick pic now that his near-death experience was passed.  It was only fair to reciprocate.

_FoxyBusiness: Well aren’t you a big boy?_

_FoxyBusiness: image.bmp_

He barely had to wait a few seconds before getting a response.  Clearly this guy was hooked.

_(N/A): So when are we meeting?_

Nick chuckled to himself.  Oh yes, he was hooked, line and sinker.  They continued their back-and-forth over the course of Nick’s dumbbell flies.

_FoxyBusiness: Who decided we were meeting?_

_(N/A): I did._

_FoxyBusiness: You like to take a lot on yourself, don’t you?_

_(N/A): I do._

Nick had to admit, this guy had a way with making two-word responses say a lot.  And he was liking what they said.

_FoxyBusiness: Tell you what, I’m free in about a half-hour.  You?_

_(N/A): Same, I need to finish up at the gym first._

A strange sense of _something_ started to metastasize in the back of Nick’s mind.  The _something_ wasn’t an idea so much as the impression of an idea – a hint, a shade of intuition.  He couldn’t decipher it and translate it into conscious thought, but it was _there_.  And it filled him with a combination of dread and excitement.

_FoxyBusiness: Oh?  Where do you go?_

_(N/A): Wouldn’t you like to know?_

The _something_ was beginning to become clearer – _but no_ , Nick thought.  He quashed the nascent idea as soon as it began to crown into the sphere of awareness.  It wasn’t possible.

_FoxyBusiness: Suit yourself.  Think I’d rather be working out where you go than my place, though._

_(N/A): I don’t doubt it._

_(N/A): Where should we meet?_

The fast-forming _something_ was starting to materialize before Nick could get it to dissipate.  _He doesn’t know_ : that realization echoed through the permeable layer just beneath his consciousness.  But who was ‘he’, and what didn’t he know?

_FoxyBusiness: I’d prefer something in public first, just to make sure you’re not a crazy person._

_(N/A): That’s fine, though I assure you I’m not._

_I already know that_ , Nick thought.  The _something_ was dawning, breaching the walls of his psyche and flooding his active thoughts.

_FoxyBusiness: You know the Orange Grill, on the corner of Peak and Mane?_

_(N/A): Yes.  I’ll be there in half an hour?_

_FoxyBusiness: Sure.  How will I know it’s you?_

_(N/A): Do you anticipate a large number of water buffalos?_

_(N/A): I’ll be wearing a white tee-shirt commemorating the Zoocentennial._

Nick looked up from his phone to glance at Bogo lifting on the other side of the room…

…Wearing a white tee-shirt commemorating the Zoocentennial.

Nick gulped.  The _something_ was no longer a _something_.  It was a realization.

He tried to calm himself to moderately successful effect.  There were a number of different ways he could play this.  He could block Bogo now and pretend this never happened.  Better yet, and safer, he could make up a bullshit excuse about being roped into something and bag off – and _also_ pretend this never happened.

But curse him, there was another option here.  A very, _very_ dangerous option.  He liked to push it to the limit, but he was pretty certain this was sprinting right past to the limit, turning around several paces beyond it, and then blowing it up with a rocket launcher.

If he did this – this stupid, terrible, _ridiculous_ idea that, if Judy had known he was even entertaining it would smack him in the face – there was no way to _un_ -do it.

And why would he do it, exactly?  Was he thinking with his head, instead of his head?  Did he really revel in being an agent of chaos to this degree?

There was absolutely _no_ good reason to do this, he thought as he was already halfway across the gym.

Nick waited for Bogo to finish his set – the buffalo was making sure not to slam his weights as he deadlifted, but it was still pretty loud.  Nick let his eyes wander over Bogo’s body, barely contained by his workout clothes, and wondered how he hadn’t realized this hours earlier.

Bogo finished his last rep with a deep breath, and turned to look at the fox.  “Yes?”

“I could use a spot.”

The chief nodded, temporarily pleased that Nick wasn’t interrupting him for something banal or offensive.  Nick led the way back to the bench as Bogo followed, putting just a little bit of extra sway into his swagger, but not too much as to be distracting.

“I’m going for incline bench but I can’t get the weights up.”  It was the truth, he really couldn’t.

“Alright, I’ll hand them to you.”

Nick smiled what he thought was his winningest smile.  “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

He leaned back on the bench and put his paws up, letting Bogo set the dumbbells in his paws.  Nick talked to him as he completed his reps, somewhat strained.  “So”, he grunted out.  “Any plans tonight?”

“None of your business, Wilde.”

Nick had to refrain from laughing – he didn’t want to fail mid-set and embarrass himself again.  He finished up and dropped the weights to the floor with an audible bang, causing Bogo to grimace.  “If you can’t set them down gently, you shouldn’t be lifting them”, he chastised.

“Sorry, I usually don’t go this heavy.”

“I could tell.”

He turned off of the bench to sit on it, and took a breath.  _Play it cool_ , he thought.  He put on the most casual smile he could, trying his best to emit an aura of pure laissez-faire.  “Shame about the ‘no plans’ thing, though.  I was looking forward to it; the Orange Grill has fried green tomatoes to die for.”

As his words sunk in, Bogo’s expression started to morph.  First one of confusion, narrowed eyes and set frown – then shocked realization, eyes wide open and mouth agape.  And then lastly a combination of anger and humiliation, brows creased and face approaching a snarl.

It was that last one that made Nick rethink this plan a little.

“ _What.  Were.  You. **Thinking**_ ”, Bogo gritted out between his teeth.

Nick continued to play it cool.  _Cool as a cucumber.  Cool as ice_.

“I could ask you the same thing, chief”, he said with a shrug.

The chief put his hand to his face and slid it down his muzzle.  “I didn’t know it was you.  _Obviously_.”

“Same here, at least not until you mentioned the shirt.”  That was half a lie; it started to dawn on him a little earlier than that.

Bogo looked down at himself and sighed exasperatedly.  “Why did you even tell me?  Why didn’t you just…”

“Ghost you?”  The chief nodded and Nick shrugged.  “Seemed rude.”

“Well it would’ve been a lot easier to deal with than… than this!”  The buffalo groaned again.  “This is an HR disaster”, he grumbled to himself.

“Only if you want it to be”, Nick said with a relaxed air that stood at contrast with his tempestuous inner state.  He knew Bogo would be angry at first, but he thought the anger would be focused on _him_ , not the buffalo himself.

“What do you mean ‘only if I want it to be’?  This is –”

Nick made a ballsy move and cut him off.  “’Fraternization’, I know.”  He dared to shoot him a cocky smile.  “But fraternization isn’t _technically_ an offense, just frowned upon”.  If nothing else, he was familiar with loopholes.  “So really, there’s nothing for me to tell HR even if I wanted to.  An attractive, anonymous buffalo sent me some pictures – which were very nice, by the way – and I sent some back.”

Bogo was beginning to understand what Nick was angling at.  The buffalo transitioned from confused and shocked anger to a sort of deadly silence.  He appraised Nick with narrowed eyes.  “What are you getting at, Wilde?”

Nick let his smile take on a bit of a seductive air.  “Well, we _were_ going to go the Orange Grill –”

“Absolutely not.”  The buffalo looked steadfast, but Nick caught the hesitation in his eyes: that ‘what if’ the chief wouldn’t be able to _not_ feel now that the object of his pent-up day’s worth of lust was sitting in front of him, and clearly receptive.  He was probably saying ‘absolutely not’ just as much to himself, Nick thought.

“Why not?”, Nick asked innocently.

“…Because it’s inappropriate”, Bogo responded with a sense of finality undercut by his hesitation.”

“And why is it inappropriate?”

“Because you’re my employee”, Bogo grit out.

Nick exaggeratedly shrugged.  “And?  I’ve had sex with my bosses before; never affected my capability in the workplace.”

Bogo huffed very loudly.  For a second Nick felt bad about putting him on the spot like this.  “I would feel… _uncomfortable_ , doing something like that.”

And now Nick definitely felt bad.  It was obvious Bogo wanted to do ‘something’, but…

“Well, what can I do to make you comfortable?”

Bogo looked at him with that appraising glare again.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said”, Nick replied, keeping up his casual tone as much as possible.  “I’m not some innocent, naïve, young rookie who doesn’t know what I’m doing – you know that.”  He stood up, and Bogo didn’t flinch or step back from him.  “I’m perfectly capable of mixing business and pleasure while keeping them separate.  Now,” He stood toe-to-toe with Bogo, albeit only coming up to his lower chest.  “If you want a bit of pleasure at the end of your business day, I’m here.”

Bogo exhaled slowly, and said nothing for several seconds.  “You’re making this exceptionally difficult for me, Fox.”

Nick smiled, this time really putting the seductive quality into gear.  “Easy is no fun.”

Bogo chuckled at that.  Nick didn’t think he could laugh, let alone have expressions other than “grouchy” and “pissed-off”.

“Well, you’re certainly not easy to put up with, that’s for sure.”

Nick grinned.  “Well look at that – you really are as witty as you are on Prowlr.”  He risked putting a paw on Bogo’s chest.  The buffalo stood ramrod straight at the contact, but didn’t move as Nick stroked it down his pectorals.  “As sexy, too”, he added in quieter voice.

For a second, he wasn’t sure if Bogo would respond – but then he felt a firm hand on his ass.  He sighed in pleasure at the contact, and Bogo near-whispered “You are an absolute _devil_ , you know that?”

Nick lowered his paw to Bogo’s waist, and put his other on the other side.  “So I’ve been told.”

The buffalo stayed quiet for a moment before responding.  “This is _madness_.”

“I have that effect on people.”

There was that chuckle again, deep and good-natured, with more than a hint of mischief in it.  “What am I going to do with you, Wilde?”

Nick moved his paws around to Bogo’s abdomen, and let them dip ever so slightly beneath the waistband of his joggers.  “Hopefully?  Fuck me silly.”

Bogo grunted pleasurably and pulled Nick closer, both of his hands squeezing the fox’s ass cheeks.  “You sure you could even take it?”

“If I can take a polar bear, I can take you.”  He winked at him.  “We foxes are very flexible.”

Bogo visibly swallowed at that, and Nick felt his already tight pants grow tighter.  He looked down to see the sizable bulge in Bogo’s own pair.  Bogo followed the trail of Nick’s eyes, looked down at himself and chuckled.

Nick dipped his paws deeper into Bogo’s pants, and grasped his cock through his briefs.  Bogo groaned at the contact, and Nick started to squeeze and pull on it.

“I see the pic wasn’t lying – you _are_ a big boy, aren’t you.”  He felt his own cock stir in sympathy for Bogo’s.

“Damn it, Wilde”, the buffalo grunted out.  “Quit teasing already, will you?”

Nick laughed.  “I’m afraid that’s impossible, chief.  Teasing’s just what I do.”  He decided to be merciful, though, and yanked the chief’s pants and briefs down with one motion, freeing his cock.  “But if you insist…”

He felt Bogo’s hands curl into the fur on his head as he got on his knees and started to muzzle the buffalo’s cock.  He alternated between kisses, poking it with his nose, and just a handful of torturous licks.  He liked to get his partners nice and riled up before really getting into it.

And judging by Bogo’s expression, he was riled.  Nick looked up at him.  “What, chief?  Can’t handle a bit of foreplay?”

“Blowjobs _are_ the foreplay.”

Nick _tsked_.  “Always in such a rush, you mammals are.”  He licked Bogo’s shaft from the balls all the way to the tip, eliciting a pleasured moan from the larger mammal.  He started to properly blow him, then, starting with the head, and slowly taking down as much as he could.  He’d never be able to go full-bore on a mammal Bogo’s size, but he could definitely get more of it than most mammals would probably guess by looking at him.

Bogo was certainly one of those mammals, as he watched in surprise as Nick bobbed up and down on his sizeable cock.  “Where did you learn to do that, Wilde?”

Nick removed his head, freeing Bogo’s saliva-slick member into the air, and blew on it, causing Bogo to erupt in a full-body shiver.  “Already told you – used to work with polar bears.”

“…I thought that was another one of your terrible jokes.”

“Hey now, take that back – my jokes are not terrible.”

Bogo chuckled, grabbing his cock and slapping it gently against Nick’s muzzle.  “Alright, I admit.  You have a modicum of oral talent.”  Nick cocked an eyebrow, and Bogo made a face at him.  “You know what I mean.”

Nick shrugged.  “I can’t tell which is more offensive: that you only thing I have a modicum of talent at jokes, or a modicum of talent at blowjobs.  Because I can promise I’m pretty great at both of them.”

“And such a humble fox, too.”

“You know it.”

Nick leaned back into Bogo’s crotch, eager to get back to business, when Bogo stopped him.  “No – this is stupid and risky.”  Nick looked up to make eye contact with him.  “We’re going to my office.”

Nick grinned.  “A little privacy might be good.”

 

……….

 

The precinct was virtually empty when Nick and Bogo got back into their uniforms, exited the locker room, and headed for his office.  Clawhauser wasn’t even at the front desk anymore, the night shift guy whose name Nick didn’t even know having taken his place.

Bogo closed the door quietly behind them, and then shut the blinds over the windows.  He turned around to find Nick already quickly undoing all the work he’d done to get back into his (very rumpled) uniform.

Nick shed his blue button-down uniform shirt and the tank top beneath to the floor, followed by his pants and briefs.  He stretched, letting Bogo drink in every contour of his body and cinnabar-and-cream coat.  Judging by the chief’s expression, he was transfixed.

“So”, Nick ventured.  “How many guys do you usually get naked in this office?”

“Can it, Wilde.”  He stalked across the room in no time flat and pinned Nick to the wall, arms on either side of his head.  He tentatively raised his hand to Nick’s face, caressing it, lowering it across his neck, down his collar bone, across his chest, down his abdomen, and –

Nick practically purred as Bogo started pumping his cock.  He started to return the favor himself, pressing his hand down on the buffalo’s tented pants.  “You know, this was a lot easier when you had less clothes.”

The chief hummed and backed up, starting to strip down himself.  Nick watched hungrily as he shed layer after layer.  Bogo’s chest looked like that of a classical deity, something someone would chisel out of marble centuries ago.  Nick found himself appreciating it the same way he would a lovingly rendered work of art at first, before giving in to baser temptation and admiring it in a decidedly more hands-on way.

As he stroked Bogo’s body, the buffalo undid his belt and quickly got out of his few remaining garments, leaving the two of them naked as their nameday, lost in a lustful haze of fur-on-fur contact.

“You know”, Nick gasped.  “If I’d known, I’d have been all over you _way_ sooner.”

Bogo grumbled something inaudible that sounded distinctly curmudgeonly to Nick before lifting the fox up in the air outright and depositing him on his (very comfortable) office chair.  The buffalo crouched down and approached the seated fox at a stalking crawl.  Nick found it exciting to have the predator-prey dynamics so thoroughly flipped on their head.

The chief started bathing Nick’s cock in his tongue, licking it up, and down, and side to side, and swirling around it.  Nick moaned at the feeling, grasping Bogo’s horns lightly and egging him on.  The chief complied, and he took Nick into his mouth.  It was an easy fit, considering the significant size difference between them.  Whereas Nick wasn’t able to take all of Bogo, Bogo could take all of Nick with room to spare.

Nick felt like he was totally encompassed by Bogo, and couldn’t help but start bucking up into his muzzle.  The buffalo didn’t let up on the tongue action either, and started humming every so often too, adding additional layers of sensation.

Nick was flying in fox heaven when Bogo let up, and started to move his tongue lower, down from his cock, taking his testicles into his mouth one-by-one, dragging lower until –

“ _Oh_.”

_‘Oh’ indeed_ , thought Nick as Bogo started rimming him.  He was gentle but proactive in his attention, alternating between careful flicks of his tongue and prolonged periods of thrusting.  Nick’s back arched into the exciting intrusion, and he had to work not to make too much noise.

Bogo let up to look at him, and Nick could make out the intensity in his gaze even with the only light in the room being the occasional panning flash of headlights across the slits in the blinds.  “You like that, don’t you?”

_That was an understatement_.  “What can I say?  I’m an insatiable bottom.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Bogo got up and walked over to his gym bag, fishing around inside of it for a moment.  He walked back to Nick, cock standing straight up, with a bottle of lube in his hand.  He gave the fox an appraising look with a cock of his head.  “Are you _sure_ you can take this?”

Nick nodded.  “Not all of it, of course – but most of it.  I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Bogo nodded in turn, and Nick thought he looked a little uncertain.  “Nervous, chief?”

The buffalo looked caught out, and forced himself to regain composure.  “You wish, Wilde.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Bogo liberally applied lube to his hand, and started to circle Nick’s hole with his finger, constantly shrinking the radius and closing in.  Finally it made contact, and pressed in.  Nick hissed at the intrusion, then the finger went deeper, and Bogo started to curl it, hitting his sweet spot.

He let out a high-pitched moan that was probably a _little_ too loud, because Bogo reacted to it with shock.  “Sorry.  I’ll try to keep it under control.”

“See that you do.”

When the second finger entered, Nick was already riding out the initial hit of pain.  When the third hit, it was nothing but pleasure.  He started to press back onto Bogo’s fingers as they thrust and curled into him.

Bogo slowly retrieved them, and Nick knew the main event was about to arrive.  The chief was dousing his cock in lube, clearly afraid he would do damage.

“Like I told you, I’ll tell you my limit.  Don’t underestimate me, though.”

Bogo nodded, his eyes lidded with lust.  Nick felt the fat head of his thick cock press against his entrance, and he relaxed himself into the feeling.  After the head pressed in, the rest of it was smoother sailing, and Bogo gasped out a halting series of pleasured sounds.

When he was about two-thirds of the way in Nick called it.  “Stop.”

The chief only nodded, clearly having trouble with words.  “It’s – it’s _tight_.”

Nick’s smile was practically sex-dizzy.  “Yeah, and you’re big.  Start whenever you like.”

Bogo slowly retracted his cock, all the way to the head, before just as slowly pushing it back in.  Nick had to cover his muzzle with his paws to prevent his moans from escaping.  For his part, the chief looked to be having just as much difficulty with that.

He started to pick up the pace, and Nick found himself quickly acclimating to it, bucking back just a bit with every thrust.

Feeling naughty, Nick moved his tail to rest just beneath Bogo’s balls, massaging the buffalo’s perineum as he thrust.  The chief groaned wantonly at that.

Bogo increased his tempo again, and Nick bounced right along with it, trying and failing to contain his gasps and murmured sounds of pleasure every thrust.

The chief looked down at him from his comparatively towering position, an expression of pure need on his face.  Nick saw how much pleasure he was giving this mammal, and it started to set him over the edge.

“Chief, I’m gonna cum soon.”

Bogo grunted in response.  Nick judged his reaction of keeping up the speed and pressure was as much of answer as he was going to get.

He contained himself for as long as he could, riding out the successive waves of ecstasy, before he couldn’t take it anymore.  He let his head recline as he came with a high-pitched moan, falling into that liminal space of coital pleasure as he made a mess of himself and the chief.

A few seconds of furious bucking on Bogo’s part passed, but the fox’s clenching during his orgasm was too much, and he came deep inside him with a prolonged, gasping grunt kept muffled by his hand.  Nick felt the warmth pool inside his lower abdomen with a sense of satisfaction.

They stayed locked in that embrace for a few moments afterward, both of them laughing a bit with relief, unsure where to go or what to do from here.

Bogo broke the silence.  “I have a towel in my gym bag.”

Nick nodded.  “I’d appreciate it.”

The chief mopped Nick up first, with a surprising amount of tenderness and care that he didn’t expect.  After cleaning himself up, he sat the towel under Nick for… his mess, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head as if he did something to be guilty of.  Nick took the opportunity to admire the flexed musculature of his arm while he did so.

“Well, I had fun”, Nick said, deciding to preemptively break the ice before it had a chance to freeze over.

Bogo shook his head.  “I’m in disbelief that I just did that.”  Nick gave him an incredulous look.  “But fine, yes, I had fun too.”  He smiled.  “Quite a bit, actually.”

Nick grinned.  “See?  I came, you came, and there’s no HR nightmare on the horizon.”  He stood up and moved over to his jumbled pile of clothes.  “Now: what are you up to this evening?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, before I knew Mr. Anonymous Muscular Buffalo was you, I was planning to win him over with some great food and witty conversation.  I see no reason for the plan to _change_.”

Bogo stared at him like he was from another planet.  “Wilde.  I’m your boss.  You’re my employee.”

“True, _but_ , you also just came inside me.  I feel like you at least owe me a drink.”

“If this is some sort of ploy to, to –”

Nick raised his paws in a mollifying gesture.  “It’s no ploy.  I just want to see you smile more often.  Is that so much to ask?”  He could really play up the innocent do-gooder when he wanted to.  “And also I think we should keep having sex, because that was the best lay I’ve had in years.”

Bogo grumbled and stood there for a minute, still very much naked.  Nick didn’t mind.

“ _Fine_.  We will go out to this… _Orange Grill_.  Just this one time.”  He paused.  “And I’ll… think about the other thing.”

Nick smiled.  ‘Just this one time’ would be easy for a hustler like him to stretch out.  And if he was ‘thinking’ about that second bit, it meant his mind was already made up and he just didn’t want to say so then and there.

Nick extended his hand to the buffalo.  “Then it’s a deal?”

Bogo waited a moment before meeting the fox’s paw with his own.

“It’s a deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well there's my fun weekend story.
> 
> Thanks for kudos and comments; criticism always welcome.


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